Hope everyone got a chance to get some downtime, disconnect, relax and rest a bit over the summer holidays. Very likely in the first days of September the summer seems distant for many of us already well in motion with getting things set up and in place at our respective schools. Anyway as this is our first issue of the new academic year, we wish all members of our ECIS ICT community a productive and successful year. This fall we have the ECIS Teachers conference, and a special Full Program Details ECIS ICT Pre-Conference with Keynote Jeff Utech. More details available in our Professional Development section below.
The summer is always a busy time for movies releases and this year again saw a whole host of big blockbusters come to the screen. One thing that was noticeable is the number of science fiction movies this year that had the theme of robots, artificial intelligence, the idea of a world taken over by machines , a bleak future of have and have nots or at the end of our resources and dealing with a depleted environment. One thing that has been interesting is with the accelerated development of robotic technology, and the greater use of these in a variety of formats and venues the ethical issues related to these is getting more attention in the press and blogesphere. Daniel Suarez: The kill decision shouldn’t belong to a robot provides some food for thoughts on this topic. We are more dependent on algorithms to process information and make decisions. With the greater integration of smart technologies and robotics there is a marked increase in these being embedded in the tools we use locally and globally. The ever increasing use of automation and intelligent softwares to support our digital ecosystems is now an aspect of our digital narrative. This TedTalk raises some good questions worth sharing out to our own learning communities.
Digital Bytes: Articles of interest that you might like to share with your learning communities
Two Roads to Innovation By George Couros
http://connectedprincipals.com/archives/8865
Synthesis: Will the Internet Destroy Us? by Katherine Bell
http://hbr.org/2010/12/synthesis-will-the-internet-destroy-us/ar/1
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-google-docs-tips-for-teachers-go-back-to-school/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/13/gmail-privacy_n_3751971.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/23/magazine/my-kids-are-obsessed-with-technology-and-its-all-my-fault.html?pagewanted=3&ref=magazine&pagewanted=all&_r=1&
From Our Community!
Share you story, share your learning!
If you have a story, anecdote, lesson, vignette from your school, faculty, student please drop me a note and we would love to feature this here!
Professional Development
What is our vision for learning in the next few years? Where could current developments in information and communication technology take us? Would you like the opportunity to explore these questions with like minded educators in a stimulating environment? The Learning Technologies Team at Munich International School invites you to join us for a 2 day un-conference where the participants, i.e. all us together, drive the agenda, develop the vision and work out how we can create the future. To find out more about our concept and further details visit: Date: 13-14 Sept 2013 http://digi-evolution.com/
Google Apps for Education European Summit
The International School of Prague Oct 12-13 will be hosting the annual Google Apps for Education European Summit
The Google Apps for Education European Summit is a two day event taking place on Saturday October 12th and Sunday October 13th 2013. The summit is focused on helping you get the most out of Google Apps for Education in both ‘primary/secondary schools’ and ‘Higher Education’ environments. We have sessions lead by some of the worlds leading Google apps experts including Google staff and Google Certified Teachers and trainers.
- Registration: http://www.praguesummit.org/registration
- Would you like to present: http://www.praguesummit.org/request-for-speakers
ECIS Conference Nov 20-24 Amsterdam 2013
Mark your calendar!
The ECIS ICT Committee Pre-Conference IT Strand
with Special Guest Speaker and critical friend: Jeff Utech Thursday Nov. 21, 2013 Amsterdam, Netherlands @ the International School of Amsterdam
“A day of sharing, learning and engaging with a rich selection of workshops, panels and hands on sessions for International School Educators ”
Registration for Pre-Conference
FULL PROGRAM: ECIS ICT Committee Pre-Conference
Your words, your input…..
Please remember your links, your thoughts, your resources, your conferences/events are important to this blog if you have something you wish to have featured drop me a note jmikton@isp.cz a week before the first day of the month, I will make sure it is featured in our October issue edition.
have a good month
warm regards
John Mikton (Chair of the ECIS ICT Committee)